sábado, 7 de fevereiro de 2009

2003 to 2009. Scotland to Brazil

I am very fond of this painting, it was painted quickly and has captured fully what I felt at the time, it was based on photographs taken when I first came to Salvador and saw the carved fishing boats sitting on the sand in the shallow water ( painted in oil)The big move to Brazil meant that I had to sell my house and close my workshop, both some what traumatic and not without problems, but achieved during 2003 as well as getting a permanent VISA for living in Brazil. the workshop was packed and crated and put into a container and sent to London to catch the boat for Salvador( via Africa and Argentina).I have really only painted in Brazil, having found that Brazil lacks the culture for antique furniture, and now have reset up a workshop in France from where I am now restarting my furniture making and restoration business, so time is split between the two countries and an annual visit to Scotland to see friendsThe new workshop that I have roofed and built a covered veranda to the side, the house and the workshop are in St. Puy, the Gers near Toulouse in France.I have now returned to my beginnings in that I have started to paint and leave the restoration work for my three to six months in EuropePortraits of my friends, Campbell Mars (oil) and Michael with Zoe (acrylic)Tinkering with the old masters and trying to learn something of the techniques.The Van Dyke was painted in acrylics, the Renoir and Leonardo were done with oils, I do not do a lot of drawing before starting a painting, preferring to block the painting in with colour and then modify the image as I progress, the detail, when I do detail, is left till late on. This can be seen in the unfinished Caravaggio on the left and then see the in filled detail in the painting on the right as I have progressed . The Christ figure is a detail that I painted from a Baroque painting of around the 1760's. I much prefer colour to detail and form lines with the colours butting other colours. The Vermeer is the most recent copy and is unfinished, painted in oil.My garden in Brazil painted in oil( well the bottom of the garden).A cow seen on my travels to Lençóis, Bahia, painted in oil.A painting of my travels to Corfu many years back and still leaves very fond memories, also painted in oil.A study of rocks inspired from the rocks here on the coast of Brazil( in acrylic paint)A painting from my memories of a visit to Rome some years back( in oil)A painting based on a photograph that I took in Corfu whilst on holiday there more than ten years ago( in oil)Two paintings done shortly after my visit to Lençóis, the interior of Bahia(both in oil)I find that water is a very absorbing theme and keep returning to it in one form or another as well as rock formations.These three are all done in oil paints and are again from my trip to Lençóis.Two recent paintings that bridge France and Brazil.First is typical of Manhaus and the second is of Michael's house at day break, the mist rising with the Sun. It was a scene that I saw every day whilst I was there roofing the garage. Both are in oil.A recent painting of my memories of Scotland, painted in oils.

Seguidores

Quem sou eu

My family for a couple of generations have worked with wood and before this were ceramic artists, I grew up in an environment of everything that you needed can be made. This creates skills that are not ever lost and a mind that is forever forward thinking. My art training was in illustration and early work (12 years) was has a scene painter and special effects, I now paint for relaxation but my families background in cabinet making and architecture have given me the other trade of furniture builder and restorer which I have followed for the last 30 years. I moved to Brazil in 2003, but have also a home in Saint Puy, Gers, France, so my time is evenly split between both countries to work has a furniture restorer/maker and artist/artisan.